KDKO

Denver Radio KDKO

“KDKO” evokes memories of Denver’s soul and R&B station but it did not start out that way.   Denver’s KDKO started off back in the summer of 1956 based Littleton, Colorado and employing the call letters “KMOR”.

The station’s early format was easy listening.  Ownership was picked up by Bob Rubin in 1960 and the station was first located in South Denver’s Woodlawn Shopping Center.  That location would be devastated by the 1965 flood rising out of the South Platte River.  I was working in Huntsville, Utah that summer between freshman and sophomore years in college and had to watch coverage via a small television set supplemented by calls from my family.

The station moved locations and then in 1964 became “KDKO” with the name change being accompanies by a switch in format to Country and Western music.  The country era  short lived running from 1964 until the Spring of 1967 when the station went to an R&B format.

KDKO Goes Soul

After the switch to R&B, KDKO enjoyed a long successful run serving Denver, and while the format was geared to a black listening audience, white owner Dave Segal was the driving force behind the decision to go R&B and along the way employed both black and white DJ’s.

KDKO Record 1980

The KDKO web site relates that prior to being a pioneer innovator with the R&B format,  had much earlier broken the mold when he established Denver’s first Top 40 “rocker” format station – KOSI in the early 1950’s.  KOSI would later would go to easy listening and talk.

We also learn on the KDKO site that the call letters stood for “Denver’s Knock-Out”.  I knew one of the DJ’s on KDKO – Bob Moore who was a coach for my son’s little league football team in the 1980’s.  Moore is shown below with the very popular “Dr, Daddy-O and Charles Love.  Also illustrated below is a very early KDKO survey sheet with one of their first jockey line-ups (November, 1967).

KDKO AD – NOVEMBER 1965

KDKO ARTICLE – APRIL 22ND, 1967

KDKO ARTICLE – 1970 – DR. DADDY-O

KDKO AD – MAY 23RD, 1970

KDKO AD – JULY 15TH, 1972

KDKO LICENSE PLATE – 1972

KDKO AD – 1973

KDKO AD – MARCH 31ST, 1973

KDKO AD – SEPEMBER 27TH, 1975

KDKO AD – AUGUST 28TH, 1976

KDKO AD – DECEMBER 25TH, 1976

KDKO ARTICLE – ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS – JANUARY 18TH, 1960

KDKO AD – APRIL 1980

KDKO AD – MAY 1983

KDKO AD – AUGUST 24TH, 1980

KDKO AD – FEBRUARY 9TH, 1982

KDKO AD – JULY 3RD, 1982

KDKO – July 3rd, 1982 – “Coast to Coast Soul” Trade Ad

KDKO – December 1982

KDKO – November 1983

KDKO – 1983

KDKO AD – November 1983

KDKO – 1983 – “Happy New Years” from KDKO Staff

KDKO – 1983 – DJ Carlos Lando

KDKO – August 18th, 1984 – KDKO Jock Keven Brown – “Break For Summer” Event – Billboard Magazine

KDKO – October 10th, 1987 – KDKO Spins the Hits

KDKO – November 26th, 1988 – KDKO Spins By All Means

KDKO – March 11th, 1989 Spins “Let Me Push It To Ya”

KDKO Jocks & Staff

Bob Allen

Stan Cook

Billy Soul

Dr. Daddy-O

Rick Darnell

Charles Love

Nite Hawk

Al Killian

Ray King

King Arthur

Leo Knott

Pepper Martinez

Midget

Don Miller

Greg Mitchell

Bob Moore

Ray Morris

Bill Renolds

Dave Roberts

Steve Ross

Sandy Scott

Cliff Strong

Lindsay Walker

Kirke Wild

KDKO AD 1970’s

KDKO Radio Surveys

KDKO Survey – May 1st, 1966

KDKO Survey – July 4th, 1966

KDKO Survey – September 24th, 1967

KDKO Survey – November 26th, 1967

KDKO Radio Survey – December 3rd, 1967

KDKO Radio Survey – August 18th, 1969

KDKO Radio Survey – September 8th, 1969

KDKO Radio Survey – September 15th, 1969

KDKO Radio Survey – July 13th, 1970

KDKO Radio Survey – July 13th, 1970

KDKO Radio Survey – October 19th, 1970

KDKO Radio Survey – January 19th, 1971

KDKO Radio Survey – March 26th, 1971

KDKO Radio Survey – August 10th, 1971

 

KDKO Survey – January 7th, 1972

KDKO Radio – January 14th, 1972

KDKO Survey – May 26th, 1972

KDKO Survey – June 2nd, 1972

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KDKO Survey – July 28th, 1972

KDKO Survey – November 24th, 1972

KDKO Survey – May 25th, 1974

KDKO Survey – August 30th, 1974

KDKO Survey – December 6th, 1974

KDKO Survey – January 10th, 1975

KDKO Survey – December 12th, 1975

KDKO Survey – May 14th, 1976

KDKO Survey – May 12th, 1978

KDKO Survey – August 1st, 1980